Punchboard game apparatus



1937- H. L. SMITH PUNCHBOARD GAME APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheei 1 Filed Ndv.17 1936 NOV. 9, 1937. H 5M|TH 2,098,434

PUNCHBOARD GAME APPARATUS Filed NOV. 17, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedNov. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT osries PUNCHBOARD GAME APPARATUSHerman L. Smith, Grifton, N. 0.

Application November 1'7, 1936, Serial No. 111,320

7 Claims.

This invention relates. to amusement devices and particularly to whatare known as punch boards in which a board having a large number ofholes is used, the player or user forcing a pin into any selected holein the board and thereby securing the delivery of certain articles orsecuring a prize.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a device of this kindwhich is very simple, which may be cheaply made, which is not liable toget out of order, and which is entirely legal, because an article isdelivered each time the board is punched.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of my game apparatus.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View through the machine but showing apin inserted through the pin board and forcing one of the balls out fromits seat.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical fragmentary section on the line 4-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the cross piece I3.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6% of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary section through the casing showing the flutesor spiral grooves on the roller.

Figure 8 is a horizontal section on the line 8-8 of Figure 9.

Figure 9 is a vertical section on the line 9-9 of Figure 8, these twofigures showing a modified form of ball holding guideway.

It will be seen from Figures 1 and 2 that my game apparatus comprises anouter casing designated generally 10, which may be made of metal, woodor any other suitable material, and which is provided with a back, ahinged top H, a front 45 board l2 extending downward from the top, and atransversely extending member I 3 which is spaced from the lower edge ofthe board l2 to leave an aperture 14 through which the articlesdelivered may be seen. The member or portion It has 50 below it an area15 which is formed with a plurality of vertical rows of holes I6. Forinstance, there may be ten rows of holes and ten holes to each row, thusgiving a hundred apertures, any one of which may be selected forpunching. Below the apertured punch board 15 there is a window H whichdiscloses the number of balls punched when the player is throughpunching. Below the Window there is an opening 13, and below thisopening there is a downwardly and forwardly inclined floor It. Theforward end of this floor extends out beyond the member i8 andconstitutes a tray within which the article punched out is received.

The upper portion of the casing ill between the front l2 and the backand below the top is formed to provide a magazine 29 for the goods beingdelivered. These articles or goods will preferably be in the form ofballs of chewing gum or marble balls or candy balls, or anything of thisnature. These objects will be preferably spherical in form.

Just below the window or display opening M,

there is disposed an upwardly and inwardly inclined shelf 2| which willcatch and hold a number of the articles being vended, so that these maybe displayed through the window M and the player can see the article heis to get.

The transverse bar 13, as illustrated, has a downward extension whichconstitutes the punch board 15. The portion I3 is relatively thick andthe upper face is downwardly and inwardly inclined at 22, and oppositethis is a downwardly and inwardly inclined shelf 23. Disposed betweenthe inner face of the member 53 and this shelf 23 and on a level withthe downwardly extending ends of the face 22 and of the shelf 23,

is a roller 24 pivotally mounted in the end walls of O the casing andwhich has a. detailed construction, as will be later described.

As before stated, the cross bar 13 is integral with the punch board 15,but this cross bar it 7 up. The roller is adapted to be rotated by meansof a key 26 adapted to be inserted through a key hole in one end wall ofthe casing. Preferably the roller is spirally grooved aboutthree-fourths of its circumference, as at 2'5, so as to secure a lateralmovement for the balls A, as well as a feeding movement. A clockwiserotation of the roller 24 will tend to carry the balls downward into theguides 25. A counter-clockwise rotation, however, will dislodge ballswhich may by chance have become jammed in the throat formed by theroller 24 and the walls of the recess 25. A portion of the roller may beleft entirely free of these spiral grooves 21 in order that pressureagainst the walls of the metal tubes 28 may be relieved.

Disposed against the inner face of the board 15 are a series of verticaltubes or guides designated 28. Each of these guides or nearly circulartubes is made of metal, and each tube is formed to leave a verticallyextending open space 29. In other words, each guide 28 has the form incross section of somewhat more than a semi-circle. 28 is formed with aplurality of circumferentially extending slits 30 extending inward fromthe opposed edges 3| of the tube, these slits extending" partly into thetube so that wings 33 are provided which are somewhat elastic. Thatportion of each tube which faces against or confronts the inner face ofthe punch board I5 is provided with a plurality of apertures 34 whichcorrespond in number to a vertical series of apertures it in the punchboard, and thus an implement such as the implement 35, may be insertedthrough the perforations l6 and through the perforations to force anyarticle which is opposite one of these perforations 34 out between theresilient wings 33. When the article is forced out between these wings,it will drop downward onto a trap 36. This trap 36 is pivotedintermediate its ends and is disposed in a plane adjacent the plane ofthe opening H. The forward edge of this trap or false floor 36 is heldin position just opposite the lower edge of the opening I! by means of acoiled contractile spring 31. The rearend of t re trap 36 is connectedby a connecting rod 38 or other suitable means to the end of the roller24 or to a disk carried by this roller, the roller having a pin 39, withwhich the end of the link38 loosely engages. It will be obvious now thatwhen the roller is turned in either direction from what may be termedits normal position, the rear end of the trap door will be elevated andall the articles gathered upon this trap will be dropped onto the trayl9 and will roll downward and be discharged to the opening l8.

It will be noted that the punch board !5 is relatively thick. In actualpractice, it will be about 1 in. thick and the holes IE will berelatively small so as to prevent a player seeing through these openingsand thus seeing the color of the balls which are disposed behind theseopenings.

In the operation of this device, it will be seen that Whenever the pin35 is inserted through the selected aperture IS, a ball of chewing gum,candy, a marble or other like article will be forced out from betweenthe wings with which the ball happens to be coincident, and that becauseof the downward and forward inclination of the punching board and of theball tubes 23, the articles so punched out will drop upon the trap door36. Every time that a ball is punched out from any of the sections ofany tube, a ball from the ball compartment or magazine will drop downinto place in the top of the ball tube 28, and obviously when a ball ispushed out from one of the lower sections of the tube 28, the balls fromabove will drop down, and a ball from the magazine will roll into thetop of the tube. Thus these tubes get continually filled.

One of the important features of this invention lies in the fact that itis of relatively small and convenient size, and this is secured byproviding a magazine from which the balls are constantly Each tube'idischarged into the ball guides or tubes, so that the dimensions of theactual punch board may be relatively small, and it is not necessary forthe punching board l5 to have more than or balls behind it. Obviouslythe size of the ball used will determine the number of holes which maybe placed in the punching section or board I5 and this, of course, willdetermine the height of the several winged sections of the arcuate tube28. When the player is through playing, the merchant will rotate theroller 24 in a direction to stir up the balls and mix them up, thespiral "grooves 21 acting to shift the balls toward the middle of.themachine and thus mix them up all the more.

When the selected numbers have been punched by a player, the balls orother articles so punched out will drop upon the trap door 36 and thenthe merchant can rotate the roller 24 by means of a key and dischargethe balls that have gathered upon the trap door upon the tray l9 andthese may be withdrawn. Inasmuch as these balls are. of chewing gum,candy or of like articles, it is obvious that there is always an articlevended to the purchaser and player. The balls may have numbers on themor may be differently colored and certain numbers or colors will securepremiums from the merchant.

While preferably I use the resilient metallic tubular members 29, I donot wish to be limited to the construction of these members of metal,and in Figures 8 and 9, I have shown a member 28 formed of relativelysoft rubber which provides a series of vertical guideways, each nearlycircular in plan View, and which is so constructed as to provide thewings 33= of relatively soft but resilient rubber past which the ballsor other devices A may be forced. Each partially tubular guideway hasits wings 33*- transversely slitted, as at 30 for the same purpose as inthe construction shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The roller 24 is preferably, in actual practice, about 2 inches indiameter and the grooves 21 about A; of an inch wide and about of aninch deep. The purpose of the roller is to stir the balls in themagazine every time the merchant with his key releases the trap 36. Whenthe roller is turned in a clockwise direction in Figure 2, it throws theballs forward and down into the guide grooves 25, then down into thetubes 28. When the tubes 28 and 25 are full, the top balls will belikely to catch in the grooves of the roller and cause pressure on themetal tubes 28 if the roller were grooved all the way around so thatportion of the'roller which is normally on top, as shown in Figure 2, isleft ungrooved to prevent this pressure when the roller is turned to theright.

It is to be noted in Figure 2 that the trap 36 is so disposed that thepunched out balls or other articles rest on the trap 36 adjacent thewindow I1, and when the trap door is shifted to the position shownin'dotted lines in Figure 2, the free edge of the door does not'come inview through the opening I8; The opening I8 is only slightly larger thanthe article being vended and by having the free end 36 stop at a pointabove the upper edge of the opening l8, it makes it difficult forsomeone to cheat the machine by holding the trap door down with thefingers or with an instrument and then punching out the balls.

Of course, it will be understood that when a ball is punched out of acolumn, all the balls above the punched out ball fall down one step andother balls in the magazine immediately fall" into the guide grooves 25until the column is filled up again. Sometimes, the balls will notimmediately enter the guide grooves 25 and then the partially groovedroller stirs up the balls in the magazine causing those which happen notto enter the guide grooves 25 to enter when the roller is turned.

It is obvious that the recesses 25 together with the nearly circulartubular members 28 below these recesses constitute vertical guidewaysdown which the balls from the magazine travel and that these guidewaysare divided to provide a plurality of pairs of resilient wings normallyembracing the balls but adapted to be forced apart when a ball is forcedout, as shown in Figure 2.

While I have illustrated certain details of construction and arrangementof parts, I do not wish to be limited thereto as obviously many minorchanges might be made without departing from the spirit of the inventionas defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a game of the character described, an element having a verticalrow of perforations, a semi-tubular guideway extending vertically behindthe element and aligned with the row' of perforations and formed toprovide a vertical series of pairs of inwardly curved resilient wings,the guideway being adapted to receive a series of globular objectshaving a diameter approximately equal to the cross section of theguideway and approximately equal to the vertical length of each pair ofwings, the vertical row of perforations in the element opening into theguideway each before the middle of a pair of wings.

2. In a game apparatus of the character described, a casing, the face ofthe casing below the upper portion thereof having a plurality ofvertical rows of perforations, a plurality of vertical guideways on theinside of the perforated portion of the casing, each guideway beingobstructed at its lower end, each guideway having a plurality of pairsof resilient wings, each pair being slightly spaced from the nextadjacent pair by a slot in said guideway, the perforations opening intothese guideways opposite the middle of each pair of wings whereby aninstrument may be inserted through the perforation to force out anobject immediately behind the perforation.

3. In a game apparatus of the character described, including a casing,the front of the casing below the upper portion thereof being formed toprovide a punch board having a plurality of vertical rows ofperforations, a plurality of vertical guideways on the inside of thepunch board, each guideway being obstructed at its lower end and eachguideway being formed to provide a plurality of pairs of resilientwings, each pair of wings being separated from the next adjacent pair bya slot in said guideway, the perforations through the punch boardopening into these guideways opposite the middle portion of each pair ofwings, the casing above said punch board constituting a magazine for thearticles to be dispensed, and means at the lower end of the magazine forguiding the articles into said guideways.

4. In a game apparatus of the characterdescribed, including a casing,the front of the casing below the upper portion thereof being formed toprovide a punch board having a plurality of vertical rows ofperforations, a plurality of vertical guideways on the inside of thepunch board, each guideway being obstructed at its lower end and,

each guideway being formed to provide a plurality of pairs of resilientwings, each pair of wings being separated from the next adjacent pair bya slot in said guideway, the perforations through the punch boardopening into these guideways opposite the middle portion of each pair ofwings, the casing above said punch board constituting a magazine for thearticles to be dispensed, and a roller mounted at the upper ends of theguideways and closely adjacent thereto and acting to guide objects insaid magazine into said guideways.

5. In a game apparatus of the character described, including a casing,the front of the casing below the upper portion thereof being formed toprovide a punch board having a plurality of vertical rows ofperforations, a plurality of vertical guideways on the inside of thepunch board, each guideway being obstructed at its lower end and eachguideway being formed to provide a plurality of pairs of resilientwings, each pair of wings being separated from the next adjacent pair bya slot in said guideway, the perforations through the punch boardopening into these guideways opposite the middle portion of each pair ofwings, the casing above said punch board constituting a magazine for thearticles to be dispensed, a roller mounted at the upper ends of theguideways and closely adjacent thereto and acting to guide objects insaid magazine into said guideways, said roller having spiral grooves onits face, the grooves extending only partially around the roller, andmeans on the exterior of the casing whereby the roller may be rotated tothereby agitate the objects in the magazine.

6. In a game of the character described, a casing, the face of thecasing below the upper portion thereof being formed to provide a punchboard having a plurality of vertical rows of perforations, a pluralityof vertical guideways on the inside of the punch board, each guidewaybeing obstructed at its lower end and each guideway being formed toprovide a plurality of inwardly curved resilient wings, each pair ofwings being separated from the next adjacent pair by a slot in saidguideway, the perforations through the punch board opening into saidguideways in the middle plane of said wings, a roller mounted within thecasing immediately opposite the upper ends of said guideways and closelyadjacent thereto, the roller acting to guide objects within saidmagazine into said guideways, a trap pivotally mounted below theguideways and onto which objects discharged from said guideways may becollected, means urging the trap into an approximately horizontalposition, and means connected to the roller whereby when the roller isrotated, the forward end of the trap will be depressed to discharge theobjects collected thereon.

7. In a game apparatus of the character described, a casing, a pin boardforming part of the lower portion of said casing, the pin board beingrelatively thick, the upper end of the pin board being downwardly andinwardly inclined, downwardly extending guide recesses formed in theinner face of the upper portion of the pin board, the recesses beingsemi-circular in cross section, that portion of the pin board below saidrecesses being formed with a plurality of vertical rows of perforationsextending from the exterior of the pin board to the interior facethereof, the inner face of the pin board immediately below the recesseshaving attached thereto a series of vertical semi-tubular membersextending down magazine into said guide recesses and thence into theupper ends of said semi-tubular members, said means also constitutingagitating means, a trap upon which the objects dislodged from betweensaid wings may gather, and means for 5 opening said trap to dischargethe objects.

HERMAN L, SMITH.

